After the Argument
Whoever spoke first would lose something,
that was the stupid
unspoken rule.
The stillness would be a clamor, a capo
on a nerve. He’d stare
out the window,
she’d put away dishes, anything
for some noise. They’d sleep
in different rooms.
The trick was to speak as if you hadn’t
spoken, a comment
so incidental
it wouldn’t be counted as speech.
Or to touch while passing,
an accident
of clothing, billowy sleeve against
rolled-up cuff. They couldn’t
stand hating
each other for more than one day.
Each knew this, each knew
the other’s body
would begin to lean, the voice yearn
for the familiar confluence
of breath and syllable.
When? Who first? It was Yalta, always
on some level the future,
the next time.
This time
there was a cardinal on the bird feeder;
one of them was shameless enough
to say so, the other pleased
to agree. And their sex was a knot
untying itself, a prolonged
coming loose.
— Stephen Dunn
Listen to the author read “After the Argument”
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This is excruciatingly beautiful!! Thank you, Winifred!
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Glad you like it.
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Touching. Thank you. And always speak first! The ‘stupid unwritten rules’ wreck marriages!
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You’re welcome.
Yes, I agree – the stupid unwritten relationship rules need to be broken.
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This poem says it all. The ending is a moving closing.
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Thanks, Evelyne.
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better than good, truer than true – thanks W
Peace
C
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Hey- You’re welcome!
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We are so full of crap when we first get married – I have never do this anymore – we have to just swallow our pride and love each other as much as our time in this earth with allow – great poem – thanks Winifred 😉
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Reblogged on Lessons in French
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Great poem, isn’t it? Thanks for re blogging it.
Yes we do come into marriage with some ridiculous expectations!
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Reblogged this on Lessons in French and commented:
So true – so sad – so much time wasted if this is your stance. I have been there before but for me now – now more!
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Thanks for sharing – really cool poem – so precious and beautiful. The silly people we are 😉
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Love that last bit- silly people we are indeed!
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Cool 😀
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That is one terrible rule. I wish it was unwritten. Power-plays can be so destructive. Thank you for sharing Winifred.
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You’re welcome. Thanks for coming by.
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